


Meet The Parents

by Bittersweet



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Meet the Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-19 02:57:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12401664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bittersweet/pseuds/Bittersweet
Summary: Tuukka brings Eddie home to meet his family. It doesn't go as smoothly as either of them had hoped.





	1. Chapter 1

“Are you all right?” Eddie asked as they got off of the plane. He could see the tension building in Tuukka’s neck and shoulders and knew he was heading for a migraine if he didn't relax.

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” Tuukka grumbled, fidgeting with the strap of his carry-on bag as it wanted to slide off of his shoulder.

They had been dating for long enough that when Tuukka invited him to meet his parents Eddie had thought maybe it was a sign that their relationship was moving forward. “Oh,” he said trying to keep the hurt out of his voice.

Tuukka looked at him. “Eddie—I didn't—” He sighed and started over. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that I don't want you here. I do. It's just…my family can be a little overprotective; they tend to be rough on my dates because of that. I've been trying to convince myself that this time will be different but…”

Eddie took Tuukka’s hand. “It’s going to be fine Tuukka.”

“Right.” Tuukka squeezed Eddie’s hand and took a deep breath. “I guess we'd better grab our luggage. I'm really glad you came,” he added softly.

“Me too,” Eddie agreed with a smile.

 

Tuukka’s brother was waiting for them outside the airport after they’d collected their luggage.

“Tuukka!” Joonas said hugging his brother. “You must be Eddie,” he said with a grin, holding his hand out.

“Nice to meet you.” Eddie shook Joonas’ hand.

“You too, though I feel like I’ve known you for years with how Tuukka gushes on about you.” Joonas popped the trunk open.

“Really?” Eddie smiled at Tuukka.

“I don’t gush,” Tuukka muttered, blushing as he put their bags in the trunk. He glanced at Eddie and smiled back.

“Ugh you two are so sickeningly sweet I’ll be lucky if I don’t have cavities by the time we get to our parent’s house.”

Joonas kept up a steady stream of chatter for the entire twenty minute drive and Eddie watched Tuukka fondly from the back seat as Tuukka answered or asked the occasional question but seemed mostly content to let Joonas carry the conversation. They reached the house and Eddie hung back a little, suddenly feeling a bit uncertain about meeting Tuukka’s parents. He watched as Tuukka’s mom fussed over her son.

“This must be Eddie,” Irja Rask said smiling at him.

“It's nice to meet you,” Eddie said nervously, holding out his hand.

Irja tsked and pulled Eddie in for a hug. “It’s so nice to finally meet you Eddie.” She took a step back. “Take your bags upstairs and then there’s sandwiches and lemonade in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”

“I like your mom and brother,” Eddie said grinning as they headed upstairs to Tuukka’s room. “When do I get to meet your dad?”

Tuukka pushed the door to his room open and glanced at the clock near the bed. “He should be home soon.”

Eddie dropped his bags and looked around the room. There were a few shelves filled with hockey trophies, a few others held books and musical notebooks, and then his gaze fell on a plush brown bear with an orange shirt.

“You have a Teddy Ruxpin?” Eddie plucked the bear gently off of his shelf and stroked the worn fur. “I used to have one of these!” He turned the bear over to see if there was a cassette inside and, pleasantly surprised that there was, pushed play. The bear started speaking in Finnish and Eddie looked over at Tuukka, grinning. “Which one is this?”

Tuukka laughed. “I think that’s the one where Grubby falls in love with a caterpillar,” he said listening for a minute. “Vivien was playing with him last time she was here,” he said fondly. “That’s one of her favourites.”

“She has good taste.” Eddie set the bear gently back on his shelf. “Did you want to head back downstairs?” He turned around and bumped into Tuukka who was standing directly behind him.

“In a few minutes,” Tuukka murmured wrapping his arms around Eddie, his expression soft. “The sandwiches will keep.”

 

“Do you like to fish Eddie?” Tuukka’s dad asked as they sat outside eating supper, enjoying the warm summer evening.

“Um,” Eddie glanced at Tuukka. “Yes, sir. I used to go with my grandpa a lot when I was a kid.”

Jari nodded. “Joonas and I were planning on taking the boat out tomorrow morning if you’d like to come along.”

“I’d like that, thank you.” Eddie jumped at the chance to get to know Tuukka’s dad better. He was far more reserved than the rest of his family and Eddie had no idea what Jari thought of him.

“Dad,” Tuukka said frowning.

“Don’t worry Tuukka,” Joonas said, throwing his arm around Eddie’s shoulders. “We’ll take good care of your boy.”

 

“Maybe I should come with you,” Tuukka said later that night when they were back in his room.

“You hate boats,” Eddie pointed out, pulling his t-shirt off over his head.

Tuukka grimaced. “Yeah but…”

“I’ll be fine Tuukka.” He put his arms around Tuukka and Tuukka rested his forehead against Eddie’s shoulder. “I really want your dad to like me and can you think of a better way for us to get to know each other?”

Tuukka huffed out a breath against Eddie’s neck. “Okay,” he agreed looking up again. “You’re right. I’ll try not to worry so much.” He started to smile. “My dad’s never invited anyone I’ve brought home to go fishing with him before.”

“See? This is a good thing! We’ll be the best of friends by tomorrow night.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Ow,” Eddie whimpered as he peeled his dress shirt off. They were back at Tuukka’s parents’ house, the five of them just having come back from dinner, and Eddie wasted no time going to Tuukka’s room to change.

“You didn’t tell me it was this bad,” Tuukka said coming into the room behind him.

Eddie winced. “It wasn’t. It’s gotten worse since I’ve been inside.” His shoulders and back were the worst but his chest and arms were also uncomfortably red. He knew the fronts of his legs were the same, the fabric of his jeans rubbing painfully. He got rid of them next.

“Lie down, I’ll get some lotion.”

Tuukka left the room and Eddie took his advice, pulling the blankets back and easing onto the cool sheets. He heard Tuukka’s quiet steps and turned his head slightly to watch him walk over to the bed.

“I found this,” Tuukka was saying reading the label on a bottle. “It’s aloe vera with lime and coconut.” He squeezed some of the lotion onto the palm of his hand and smoothed it over Eddie’s shoulders and down his back.

Eddie sighed in relief as the lotion took some of the pain away. He looked up at Tuukka as he moved to spreading lotion across his chest. He winced as he noticed the angry look on Tuukka’s face.

“Sorry,” Tuukka said, misinterpreting the wince and softening his touch. “I’m going to kill them both,” he growled.

“It's not their fault. I should have remembered to bring sunscreen.” He was sure he’d thrown some in his bag before they'd gone to the lake but he wasn't about to tell Tuukka that.

“Uh huh,” Tuukka said looking unconvinced. “And let me guess, Joonas convinced you that the sun wasn't that hot and you'd be fine.”

Eddie blushed. “That was your dad actually.”

“I’ll kill him first then.”

“I don’t want to ruin your visit over something as silly as a sunburn,” Eddie pleaded. He grinned, holding Tuukka’s hand still against his chest. “I mean there are a few good things about this situation.”

“Yeah?” Tuukka said starting to smile. “And what might those be?”

“Don't you know?” Eddie asked playing along and feigning surprise.

“Nope,” Tuukka answered. “I guess you'll have to show me.”

 

Eddie was awake before Tuukka, his sunburn making sleep uncomfortable. He slipped carefully out of bed and headed across the hall to the washroom. Tuukka was still sleeping soundly when Eddie came back from the shower. Eddie brushed his fingers lightly through Tuukka’s dark curls before heading downstairs, not wanting to wake him up by rustling around the room.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and headed down the short hall towards the kitchen. He could hear voices and he hoped that meant there was coffee ready.

“What good is going to come of his dating some second-rate backup goalie?” Eddie stopped in surprise at Tuukka’s father’s words.

“Jari!” his wife scolded.

“At least when he was seeing that girl we got a granddaughter out of it.”

“That's enough! Eddie seems like a sweet boy and our son cares about him. Anything else is strictly between them.”

Tuukka’s father grunted and the room fell silent.

Eddie stood frozen in the hall, unsure what to do. He glanced back down the hall; maybe he should go back to the room and wait for Tuukka. He cringed at the idea of hiding from his boyfriend’s father. _They’re just words,_ he told himself, forcing a smile as he continued into the kitchen. “Good morning,” he greeted Tuukka’s parents.

Jari grunted and barely looked up from his paper.

“Morning dear,” Irja said smiling. “Have a seat. Would you like some coffee?” She was already getting a cup ready.

“Don’t fuss over the boy Irja; I’m sure he can get his own coffee.”

“I’d love some,” Eddie said trying to ignore the cool glare of Tuukka’s father. “But you don’t have to—” Irja was already setting the cup in front of him. “Thank you.”

An uncomfortable silence settled over the kitchen and it was a relief when Joonas wandered in a few minutes later, yawning widely.

“Morning,” Joonas mumbled heading straight for the coffee pot. He poured some into a cup and leaned against the counter. He looked around the room with sleep hooded eyes before settling on Eddie. “Tuukka’s still asleep huh?”

“Um,” Eddie started to answer.

Joonas grinned. “You’d better go wake him up or he’ll sleep through breakfast.”

Happy for an excuse to escape Eddie hurried upstairs and was surprised that Tuukka was awake though he was still in bed.

“Breakfast’s almost ready,” Eddie said closing the door and walking over to sit on the edge of the bed so he could ruffle Tuukka’s hair. “Your brother was worried you’d miss it,” he teased.

“That was nice of him,” Tuukka said stretching. He shifted onto his side and wrapped his arm around Eddie’s waist, tugging him back into the bed with him.

“Breakfast,” Eddie reminded him, not trying very hard to resist Tuukka’s attentions.

“Yeah.” Tuukka continued kissing him.

“And then we’re supposed to be leaving for that castle tour.”

“Wouldn’t want to miss that,” Tuukka agreed and Eddie gave up talking after that.

 

They did miss breakfast though they were able to grab some toast before heading out for the tour of Olavinlinna. It was a beautiful day and they decided to walk since it wasn’t a long ways.

They were in the castle museum when Eddie looked up and realized that Tuukka had disappeared. He frowned slightly. Tuukka’s parents were nearby but Eddie didn’t see Joonas either. He shrugged it off and went to look at another exhibit that had caught his eye. As he rounded the corner he saw Tuukka and Joonas, deep in what looked like an unpleasant conversation.

“—to make you break up,” Joonas said snidely.

Tuukka spotted Eddie at that moment and Eddie walked forward. “Hey,” he said pretending not to have overheard anything. He hadn’t, he reminded himself, just the tail end of something.

Tuukka’s expression cleared though he looked a little sheepish. Joonas still looked annoyed.

“What was that about?” Eddie asked as Joonas excused himself.

“It’s nothing,” Tuukka said. “Were you done looking around?”

“Yeah,” Eddie said and Tuukka went to tell his parents that they were leaving.


End file.
